my big question: all-stars

I've often wondered just how much a Cape League season -- good or bad -- means to an individual player. That's my big question. The first installment of the "my big question" series looked at the Cape league stats for some of the top draft picks in '07. This is part two, a few words on the all-star game.

If players in the Cape Cod League are the best of the best, then the players in the Cape Cod League All-Star game could be called the best of the best of the best. Sure, not all the top prospects make the squad. And no, not all the players on all-star rosters will be high draft picks. But every single player in the all-star game deserves to be there -- and that alone makes them the best of the best of the best.

For a Cape Leaguer, getting the all-star nod is a special kind of honor, one you've earned for yourself. It's also a tremendous opportunity. At no other time this summer -- and really, at no other time in their college careers -- will so many scouts and so many scouts with so much pull be in attendance. The scouts are there, on one level, for one-stop shopping -- they can see all the best players in one place on one day. They're also on hand because the all-star game lets them see great players going against other great players. Having success in that environment can leave a lasting impression.

The good news: Cape League all-stars are no strangers to seizing opportunities. By earning an all-star selection, they've already seized the opportunity -- they've taken their chance on the Cape and made the most of it.

Getting to the all-star game is their reward, the first real fruit of their labor. Judging from recent history, it won't be the only fruit.

Fifty-two players were selected to the 2006 Cape League All-Star game. Of those players, 45 were eligible for the 2007 Major League Draft. Thirty-eight of them were drafted.

The ones who weren't may very well be drafted next year, and the freshmen in last year's game will almost certainly be drafted in '08. That means that almost every player donning an all-star uniform will get drafted.

Obviously, non-all-stars get drafted, too, and go on to great careers. But the fact remains: if you're a Cape League all-star, you're on yor way to some big things.